What did Mr. Lincoln enjoy doing?

[Donna McCreary]

Laurie: is there something unhealthy about dogs sticking there heads out the window?

Debris and dirt that flies up from the moving cars can hit the dog and do damage to their eyes. The pressure of the wind (if the car is going fast) can damage their eyes. And where l live, low branches, bushes, and tall weeds can cause injuries to the dog. They may enjoy doing it, but it is not always the smartest thing for them to do.

[RJNorton]

Yesterday I was researching the "Tabby - gold fork" story, and Michael Burlingame lists the following source in Abraham Lincoln: A Life:

Reminiscences of Mary Miner Hill, 1923, Small Collection 1985, Lincoln Presidential Library, Springfield.

Does anyone have a copy of Mary Miner Hill's reminiscences? I am curious if she gives a source for the Tabby story.

[Gene C]

My un-named family sources cast doubt on that story. But I don't have any documentation, my great - great uncle twice removed, ate it. --- Fido
(I always wondered why he got removed. - who is Mary Miner Hill?)

[RJNorton]

Gene, I believe she was the daughter of Noyes W. Miner, the pastor of the First Baptist Church in Springfield. Miner was a neighbor and friend of the Lincolns.

As a cat lover I am concerned you might be right - provable documentation for the Tabby story may be lacking. The Tabby story is also in Sandburg's "The War Years," but there are no footnotes.

[Eva Elisabeth]

If the source is not reliable - what about the name "Tabby"? I've never read it anywhere else than in the context of this story.

[RJNorton]

If the source is not reliable - what about the name "Tabby"? I've never read it anywhere else than in the context of this story.

I agree, Eva. Neither have I. I hope the story is not apocryphal, but in all honesty, I do not know.

[Donna McCreary]

I plan to use this story in my "Myths, Mysteries, and Mayhem of Mary Lincoln" book. Unless documentation is found, it will be listed as a myth. It is too good of a story not to include in this book.

Yes, Mary (Minor) Hill was the daughter of Rev. and Mrs. N. W. Minor. The family lived in Springfield, near the Lincolns, from 1854 - 1869. They visited the Lincoln family in Washington after Willie's death.

[RJNorton]

Yesterday I continued researching this story as I agree that it is a good one (despite what Fido thinks). And I found it in another book. It is in Recollected Words of Abraham Lincoln compiled and edited by Don E. Fehrenbacher and Virginia Fehrenbacher. The Fehrenbachers write, "According to a letter said to have been written by Miner to one of his daughters on April 12, 1862, Lincoln fed a cat at the dinner table, saying, "If the gold fork was good enough for Buchanan I think it is good enough for Tabby." The source of the quote is given as p. 9 of Reminiscences of Mary Miner Hill.

The Fehrenbacher's give Lincoln's quote a "D" which means they regard it as, "A quotation about whose authenticity there is more than average doubt."

So the Fehrenbachers are pretty much in agreement with Fido's unnamed family sources.

[LincolnMan]

Regarding Lincoln's enjoyment of humor, Caleb Carman related to Herndon that young Lincoln "could make a cat laugh." He said futher that Lincoln told a "great many jokes & yarns" and was "allways very mery & full of fun."
From Herndon's Informants, 429.

[Angela]

You people are incredible! I got as far as Ms. Sewards diary on the cat story and then was lost - I'd love to find out more about the Mary Miner Hill part on a cat with a name! Is this available only in print?

[RJNorton]

Hi Angela. It is my understanding (I may be wrong) that this is not available to the public in print. It's simply a typescript in the possession of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, and it's not available anywhere else. Authors, etc. can use it for research purposes.

[Rob Wick]

You are correct Roger.

Here is a link to the catalog information at the ALPLM.

Best
Rob

http://search.illinoisheartland.org/sear...aspx?pos=2

[Eva Elisabeth]

Are the kittens W. Seward gave to the Lincolns' children mentioned in any other contemporary account but in Fanny Seward's diary?

[RJNorton]

Eva, I have tried to find out, and in searching came across this statement. As a cat lover I hesitated to post this, but I came across a comment by Assistant to the Secretary of the Treasury whose name was Maunsell B. Field:

"Mr. Lincoln possessed extraordinary kindness of heart when his feelings could be reached. He was fond of dumb animals, especially cats. I have seen him fondle one for an hour."

[Eva Elisabeth]

Pardon me, but what a d**b Assistant to the Secretary of the Treasury!